Keitaro ni Youkuso!
by sakako
Summary: Another fic I decided to write because I didn't like the ending. The final chapter is now up. Hope you people have enjoyed it. If you're going to write a review, PLEASE take the time to note this is actually an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE... jaysus, I'm trying.
1. Pillars of Sand

**DISCLAIMER: I, Sakako, hereby state that I don't own _any_ of Love Hina; the characters are all copyright Ken Akamatsu.**

It was dark by the time I got to the park near the Hinata Apartments. I dove into the sandpit and began to sculpt what would be my final masterpiece.

As my hands moulded the dry sand to no avail, I noticed the jeering cackles of the town elders.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing just standing there? Get me some water!"

I must have sounded crazed – but it certainly did the trick with those guys. I never really understood what went on in their heads, or how they could just vanish, like dreams.

In an hour, I was done. I stood back to admire my work. The unjudging face of Liddo-kun seemed to be congratulating me, urging me to do well, wishing for the best.

I knew Narusegawa would come here; and so I quickly took my place, and sat myself down behind the sand-figure, dust and the sweat of hard work still settling on my cheeks.

_ It's time_, I thought.

*

The sand tumbled around my ears, deafening me. Only one thought rushed through my head. _Narusegawa!_ I had to face her once and for all. I turned quickly and kowtowed.

"Narusegawa, I'm sorry-"

But before I could finish my sentence, I felt my mouth fill with the moist sand. Her hand seemed to be forcing me down, almost as if the sand were water and she was drowning me in it like a stubborn child.

"You rotten-" she began, "filthy, disgusting, low-down excuse for a person! How could you, after all I've done for you…"

I felt her grip weaken, and as I lifted my head, I noticed that she was crying, her hands poised in her lap, turned away from me so I wouldn't see her face.

"N… Narusegawa…" I reached for her, but she jolted.

"No! Don't touch me. Just go. I never want to see you again – just go be with your _whore_!"

I was taken aback, of course. After all the effort I had spent trying to do something nice for her; so she would forgive me – she turns around and…

_ Wait a sec. Did she just call Otohime-san a WHORE!?_

"Okay, Naru, don't you think this is going a bit far? You _don't_ call the girl I've made a promise with a whore, for one thing. You _don't_ not accept my apology after I've just left her for you, and you _definitely_ don't ruin my sand-sculpture if you're just going to shove it in my mouth!"

I coughed, still clearing my mouth of said sand.

"But if you are going to do these things… Then I guess I'm just going to have to forget about you. And I hope for your sake that Mutsumi takes me back. Because if she doesn't, it's three lives you'll have ruined: mine, hers, and your own. Oh yes," and I laughed, "you'll be sorry."

She turned and opened her mouth, poised in riposte, but she couldn't find the words, obviously. I mean, I just _ripped_ her a new one, eh?

"K… Keitaro…"

She was calmer now. Almost as if she _was_ sorry already; but that couldn't be. She could never be sorry for something like that –

"I was only joking… I would have… I guess… it doesn't matter any more…"

I didn't know what to do. There was a massive dilemma running through my head – should I take her back and forgive her, or just forget about it? I mean, if she's going to treat me like shit then I really don't want to be with her anyway, right?

Sure, Haitani and Shirai were right; Mutsumi is definitely the older sister type, the one _everyone_ falls for; but I don't mind, for one thing the alternative is a whiny bitch who's always putting me down; and for another, Mutsumi's actually willing to get close to me to tell me she loves me…

_ Oh god, what have I done?_

I left Naru stranded in a pile of sand, and as I walked away, I nodded to the town elders.

They chuckled.

"Love is but a dream lost in time," said one.

"So true, so true…" the others chorused.

_Sakako's note: I agree this is probably a short chapter, but perhaps it's for the best - I mean, it's been a while since I did _anything_ right? Anyway, exams and school in general are all over; so I'll be a lot freer to write fanfiction. I'll make sure to finish off Odd Couples and any other outstanding fics in time; but just take a look at this for now. Remember to read and review onegai shimaaaaaasu~  
_


	2. Time to Think

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Love Hina or any of the characters... Can someone give me the rights please? :D**

The trail of two broken hearts followed me sadly through dimly-lit streets (Hinata still thankfully had not succumbed to the corporate machine and still used lanterns instead of street-lights), and it was nearly midnight by the time I reached my temporary lodgings at the apartment where Mutsumi Otohime was staying. She was the one person I could turn to right now – but wait…

_Didn't I just leave her for Naru? She's gonna hate me!_

My hand quivered, poised to knock at her door, and I faltered.

_No, I can't. Not now._

So I turned, ready to face the night, and wandered away from the Hinata Flats.

_What am I gonna do?_ I wondered. I've just gone and ruined three lives. And it's all Naru's fault – why couldn't she just accept my confession in the first place!? No, I mustn't blame her. Of course no-one wants to be with a guy like me. I just wish sometimes people wouldn't take all of these things for granted.

I felt a shadow fall over me, which was strange because I had found a nice bench to sit down on, overlooking the bridge separating Hinata from the main spit of land that was Japan, and the only lantern that I was aware of was behind me and quite a ways up, on top of the two-storey Hinata Restaurant, which had been closed for quite some time now.

That would mean that the caster of the shadow would have to be right behind me.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and the soft, familiar Okinawan accent spoke solemnly.

"Kei-kun…"

I could tell Mutsumi was trying to plead something, but what? I couldn't say anything, not now. I was sorry of course, but I couldn't just apologise out of the blue like that. She obviously had something she wanted to tell me.

"Kei-kun, I don't blame you for running after Naru. You know something? I'm actually not the girl you made that promise with fifteen years ago." She laughed sadly. "As much as I would have loved to be."

She went on to describe what happened that day:

"I had arrived in Hinata early in the morning, around about 8 or 9 a.m. I would say. I couldn't wait to see you – we had spent our days so happily before then. But I was tired from the long car trip, so I fell asleep under a tree just outside of the Hinata Lodge as it was back then.

"When I awoke, you were already in the sandpit. I rushed over there just as I noticed a strange girl kiss you on the cheek. I didn't know it at the time, but it was…"

She trailed off, unable to tell me who exactly it was. I was pretty sure I could guess, though.

"Narusegawa."

Mutsumi nodded, and her presence now known, she decided to take her place beside me on the bench.

"So you mean… that you actually had nothing to do with it in the first place?"

"Well, yes and no. I noticed Naru walking towards me with that look on her face, well, you know that look –"

"The look of someone in love, right?"

"Yes, that look. I asked her what had just happened, and when she said 'I'm going to Toudai with Kei-kun!' my heart fell. I was actually going to ask you that same thing as soon as I saw you – I too had heard that two lovers who got into Tokyo University would live happily ever after. But I knew that it was never going to happen.

"I gave her my Liddo-kun doll," she continued, "in the hopes that one day it would find its way to you. Sadly it didn't, but I don't blame myself for not making it clear to Naru. In fact I was quite honoured that she would keep it close to her for so long, and so after fifteen years imagine my surprise when I come face-to-face with her once more!"

I didn't know what to say, indubitably, and so I just hung my head in my hands, and willed the words to exit my mouth successfully.

"Mutsumi-chan… I'm so sorry… I didn't know this story was that complicated. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Well, that's what I wanted to say anyway.

What actually came out was more like: "Ummmmm…"

Mutsumi smiled, and it wasn't a sad smile, it was more one of relief.

"Kei-kun, I'm glad to be able to tell you my feelings like this, and no matter what happens, I want you to know, that I'm always here for you. You know when your friends said I was the 'older sister' type?" she asked.

"Um… yeah, sorry about that-"

"Don't be, silly. They were right, you know." She patted her lap. "C'mere, you. Just let me take care of you."

And so it was with that that once more my head found its way into her lap, and she stroked my face.

"I really do like the way you look."

_Even more now I'm wearing contacts, I bet._

I gathered up the courage to say something, finally.

"Mutsumi," I began.

"Yes, Kei-kun?"

"Mutsumi, I want you to know… I've always had kind of a thing for you. I mean – not like that, well, yes, kind of like that. You know, we were basically the same person, except I secretly envied you because you seemed so happy-go-lucky and carefree, and you made friends so much easier than I ever did, and what's more you made me feel like a person, Mutsumi.

"But… after tonight, I just don't know if I can make decisions regarding my love life. It's like everyone else is in control of _my_ life!"

I breathed deeply after my short rant.

Mutsumi smiled at me. "Keitaro, you'll always be my Kei-kun. If you want to be my boyfriend, I'm not going to force you into anything. I'd really like it if you did though. I know you're perfect for me. You're my 'type', if you want to generalise people like that."

And so what could I do? I don't know how I said it, personally.

"I just… I really like you, Mutsumi. I just need a little time to think."

And so she gave me time. We sat there (well I lay there) all night, and watched the sun rise over the distant mountains together, all the while her stroking my hair, and re-assuring me that everything was all right.

*

When people started to arrive on the scene, we decided it was probably a good time to leave. No words, nothing verbal like that; just a sort of unspoken consensus between us. We sauntered over the bridge, and when we got to the mainland we took a look back at the peaceful town.

I looked at her, and she at me. We nodded, and she was the one to speak.

"Kei-kun, how would you like a holiday on my island? You've deserved it at least."

I could only continue nodding – it had been some time since anyone was this nice to me, let alone offer me a place to stay (Granny Hina doesn't count of course), and so when Mutsumi took my hand, I gladly linked my fingers in with hers, and we walked into the mist.

The elders of course were there to wish us goodbye in their usual cryptic manner.

"Do not be afraid of new beginnings."

"Be prepared to live your dreams."

The rest of them chanted (and I found myself joining in this last time), "So true, so true…"

*

Little did I know that back at the Hinata Apartments Naru Narusegawa had sat herself in the hot springs and was bawling her eyes out.

Mitsune Konno waltzed in, half-drunk, and took her place next to the other girl.

"Hey, Naru, what's wrong?" She held her close, and stroked her wet hair.

Naru spoke between sobs. "Kitsune-chan, we've known each other for a long time right?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"And you'd take my side for anything?" She was pleading.

The reply came softly. "Of course hon, you're like the sister I never had."

"Well… it's about Keitaro. He confessed his love to me-"

Kitsune's eyes brightened considerably. "Really? I'm so happy for you!"

"But I played a prank on him, and pretended to throw it back in his face. And now he hates me."

"Well, shucks Naru, I dare say anyone would for you ripping their heart out like that."

Naru went through the events of the night, from returning the photo to Keitaro to sitting in the sandpit crying herself dry, Kitsune listening intently all the while.

"But you still take my side, though, right? I mean, he's a pervert and a three-time ronin and-"

"And he's also a really nice guy." Kitsune finished. "He's done nothing but be nice to you – be nice to _all_ of us," she added, "and all we've ever done was throw it back in his face. Now can you expect him to stick up for you after what you did? I don't profess to be the should-be recipient of Keitaro's feelings, but don't you think Mutsumi would be a better choice for him? I mean, she _has_ liked him since they met."

Naru's eyes welled up. "You mean… I really _have _lost him? But – but I don't want to…"

"Well maybe you should think next time before you rip someone's heart out like that. I'm sorry, Naru, but I just can't side with you on this one. If I were Keitaro, I'd be waiting for a pretty sincere apology from you right about now. Speaking of Keitaro," and here Kitsune looked around her, "I haven't seen him all night. You got any idea where he might be?"

Naru was speechless, or at least less talkative than usual. "I would have assumed he'd be back here."

Kitsune shook her head. "Nope, haven't seen him since he left to go find the turtle lady."

Naru froze. "The… turtle lady? As in, Otohime Mutsumi, _that_ turtle lady?"

"One and the same."

"Oh my god, that BITCH! She's stolen my man from me!"

The fox-eyed girl placed her hands on Naru's shoulders, and looked into her eyes sternly.

"Now, now, Naru, you could hardly say he was _your_ man, right? All you ever did was give the impression you hated his guts. He tried to see past that, and I mean, sure, you two may have had some interesting experiences together, but to him, underneath that butch shell of yours, you're nothing. There really is nothing to you, Naru, and I'm saying this as your closest friend. If you really love Keitaro, I'd do some changing, and pretty fast too."

"I just want him to love me for who I am."

"No, Naru. He's tried that, and you know it. Who you are, is not someone that can be loved. You need to change, girl, and fast, before Mutsumi makes her move – which, knowing her, could be pretty soon.

"The first thing you should be doing is going after 'your man' and pleading your case with him. Then at least he'll need some time to think it over. I'm going to back you for this, because I want to see you happy, but don't hurt Keitaro any more. He really doesn't deserve it."

Naru smiled, albeit somewhat sadly, and rose.

"Thankyou, Kitsune-chan. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Nor do I, Naru, nor do I."


	3. Gratuitous PlotThickening

**DISCLAIMER: Still, although I do not own any of the characters in Akamatsu-ka's LOVE HINA, I write to the best of my ability.**

Narusegawa Naru paced quickly around the hot spring, Kitsune watching her all the while, a sly grin plastered on her face.

"What am I going to do?" she thought. She knew she was definitely the one in the wrong here, but there was something else – something that she wasn't seeing.

"Hang on a sec. Why did Keitaro only just snap then, and not before – not all the times that I went crazy before now...?" Of course, she knew exactly why it was. "That bitch Mutsumi... She stole my man, damnit. There has to be some way to get him back though... Maybe Kaolla will have some sort of device that will help."

*

Looking back, that was a pretty dangerous time for me. Now that I know all of the facts, I'm glad things ended up the way they did. Of course, that's not going to be for another couple of chapters at least. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes. I was on a small island just off Okinawa; that island Mutsumi called her home. And what a nice home it was – I had never actually seen her house before, and I didn't expect that it would be almost the size of the Hinata Inn!

As we entered the western-style home, Mutsumi called out. "Mum? Dad? Are you guys home?" The house echoed with her warm-hearted enquiry. She turned to me, a glint in her eye. "No-one's home, Keitaro," she began. "Want to get up to some mischief?"

I gasped, and gulped slightly, a trickle of blood running out of my nose. "M-mischief? What do you mean?" She still had a tight grip on my hand and she ran with me, pulling me into the kitchen. The room opened onto a large patio, the door to which was open. The warm summer's night was slightly windy, and the sea breeze wafted in, making my head rush more, given the current situation. Thinking I could see one of the Hinata elders standing by the beach, I did a double-take, but obviously I was mistaken.

Otohime-san smiled at me, and bent over, rummaging around in a cupboard. I nearly fainted at the sight of that dress riding up her rear, sensually showing me thighs that looked, somewhat clichéd, smooth as silk.

She turned around, beaming widely and holding up a rather large watermelon. "Keitaro, let's smash it!" She giggled girlishly as she ran to the patio, kicking a baseball bat up to her hand skilfully.

Needless to say, I was quite taken aback at this show of dexterity from the normally clumsy woman standing before me. I took a deep breath and followed her out onto the sand, just as she turned back to me to tell me to hurry up.

*

Naru left the outdoor baths and went to find Kaolla Su.

_She'll be able to find Keitaro, _she thought.

She broke into a run halfway down the hallway which led from the hot springs back to her room, (of course she needed to get changed first – who would willingly show themselves outside the bath area wrapped in a towel?) and inevitably tripped over. This would not have mattered in an ordinary situation; however it just so happened that both Shinobu Maehara and Kaolla Suu were walking hand-in-hand down that same hallway, skipping towards the springs whence Naru had just arrived.

Needless to say, the two younger girls were shocked when, as Naru fell to the ground, her towel came loose, and unfurled, revealing her shapely behind.

"N-N-N-N-Naru!" Shinobu rushed over, blushing, and quickly wrapped the towel back around her friend. "Are you okay?"

"Mm, I'm fine, thanks." Looking up, the long-haired girl noticed Kaolla standing half-shocked, half-bemused.

"Ne, Kaolla, that's an interesting look you've got there. See something you liked?" Of course, Naru seemed much more willing to get along with the girls she had lived with for ages. I'm so glad that she told me her side of the story – I was losing sleep over it, would you know.

"Naruuuu~" was the only reply, as playful Kaolla tackled the now-standing Naru.

"Hey, Kaolla, I was wondering, do you have a tracking device I could borrow for a while? I'm going to go get Keitaro back."

"Mhmm! I miss him already, let's go find him!" Kaolla led Naru past her room and up the stairs to the jungle that made her home.

Naru could never quite grasp how this room had gotten plants to grow so fruitfully and plentifully, nor how there could possibly be a pond which seemed to sink into the room below. This time, she had another thing to gape at: the whole of the back wall was covered in computer screens.

"What are those for?" Naru was curious – knowing full well she may be killed like the proverbial cat for asking that question.

"They're that tracking device. I've been keeping watch on all of the Hinata Inn residents since I came here, you know, so I could report back and stuff." Kaolla's confession was overtly casual, and Naru just stood there, nodding. "This screen is the one with Keitaro's data on it." The smaller girl indicated a monitor with lots of writing and graphs on it.

"These are his vitals," she began, not noticing Naru relieved to find that Keitaro was in perfect shape, "and these are his co-ordinates." She pulled out a map to locate the missing man, and pointed. "He's here!" she said gleefully.

"But that's… Okinawa…" Naru's heart fell. What was she going to do, if he was all the way in Okinawa? "How are we going to get there?"

But Kaolla was already clambering through a trapdoor embedded into the wall. Naru quickly followed, not sure what was happening.

*

We lay on the beach, looking up at the stars. She had laid her head on my chest and of course as I stroked it lightly with one hand, my other was being idly fondled by hers. It was a nice night, and we both knew that there was definitely something special about what we had.

She sat up, and giggled as she spotted a final piece of watermelon resting just out of reach of my tongue. I hadn't noticed it was there, due to not having time – we had gone straight to sleep after the typical summer activity, and the nightmares that had plagued me for some time had finally disappeared. She licked at it playfully, and then pulled my head towards her, kissing me, and I felt a rush that I didn't know was possible.

Needless to say, I kissed back after a very short period of time, and soon enough our tongues were intertwined, the sweet taste of watermelon still strong within her mouth. Mutsumi wrapped her arms around my neck, and I pulled her close, the high moon seeming to smile down upon us all the while.

We kissed for a long time. I'm not quite sure how long it was exactly, but it was long enough to make me forget about all the worries I had – like what I was going to do about Naru when I got back to Hinata.

But, like I said, it didn't matter. I was sharing my first kiss with Mutsumi Otohime, and I knew that it wasn't a mistake.

As we broke off, she giggled.

I asked her what was funny, and she replied, "Well, I didn't really expect you to be so good… Have you been practicing, my love?"

"Of course not!" I was taken aback at the accusation, and as she laid back, laughing heartily, I realised that she had gotten a rise out of me; just what she had wanted. "Mutsumi! You're horrible!" I joked, poking her lightly. "You… you were my first."

Suddenly, she blushed. "Well, if that's how you kiss, with no practice…" She trailed off, but it was easy to see where things were going.

I wasn't sure I wanted to go there just yet though, so I just laid my head on her chest and nuzzled into her soft breasts, smiling as we fell asleep once more.

* * *

Sakako's note: I'm really, really, really, really sorry I haven't been updating for AGES. I thought I would have time in the holidays to write, but I'm not quite sure where all that time went. And I thought I would have time at uni to write, but I always end up watching movies with friends ^_^;;; Forgive me if you will, that this chapter is fairly short too… I'm actually going to write a storyboard before I go any further. I think I know how I want the story to end, but I have to make sure it's possible to end it that way.

Thanks to all of you who've been reading and reviewing, it really means a lot to me when I get a good review that's more than "Great story, can't wait for the next chapter!" I'm glad that most of you agree with my portrayal of Naru, and I'm actually excited about writing this one.

Anyone who's read any of my other serious fics before will know that I often don't finish them, but I promise that I will eventually get back to all of my stories.

So I guess that's a bit of a rant, but I feel you, my readers, definitely deserve it.


	4. Guaranteed Nightlife

**DISCLAIMER: Once again, I feel the unabated urge to notify you that I do not, in fact, own Love Hina. That burden lies with Ken Akamatsu-ka.**

I awoke with sand stinging my cheeks and danced around rather stupidly. Thankfully, Mutsumi was nowhere to be seen. I dived into the cool ocean to wash the last clinging clumps of sand from me, and when I surfaced, Mutsumi was calling my name.

"Keitaro! Breakfast is ready."

I walked up to the patio, and wrapped the sky-blue towel Mutsumi had placed on the railing around myself. She motioned for me to have a seat at the small table on the deck, and I happily obliged. A tray full of wonderful-looking food was next to arrive at the table, and then Mutsumi ditched her apron, revealing a much-more-casual-than-usual pink tank top and denim hot pants.

"Wow, it looks delicious!" I had to mention something about the food, and of course I smiled and added, with a newly-found sense of self-respect, "The food looks good, too," I continued.

"Well, that's always good to know. I cooked it myself," she said, beaming at me. "I tried to go for a casual look cause it's summer and, well, you know, I do have curves to flaunt here," she joked, and I felt the rush of blood to my head as I blushed profusely, nodding.

Mutsumi really was a different character when she wasn't tripping over herself. I decided to ask her about it, but first, I had a delicious breakfast in front of me. The smells of various melons, croissants, and fruit spreads was both alluring and deceptive. They were hiding the scent of the massive chocolate fondue pot that was sitting in the middle of the table. For the first time I really understood what it was to live as I shared that meal with Mutsumi. It would be one of many I would share with her over the years.

What I didn't know at the time was that somewhere not very far from where we sat, a submarine was emerging from the depths of the East China Sea, and who would be looking through the periscope at a couple eating a calm island breakfast but Naru, and she was fuming.

"What the hell are they doing with a pot of chocolate fondue!? It's breakfast time; no-one eats chocolate for breakfast! I'm gonna kill that bitch when I get up there… when Keitaro leaves… I'm gonna kill that bitch!"

However, mentioning chocolate is quite possibly the worst thing that Naru could have done at that point in time, because manning the helm of said submarine was none other than Kaolla Suu. The foreigner jumped at the chance to be eating chocolate for breakfast, and pushed the throttle up as far as it could go.

It was Mutsumi who saw the periscope first, and her who let out a shocked scream. I immediately rushed over to her and clung to her, not being the bravest of men. It was when the submarine crashed onto the beach that I screamed myself, and buried my head in Mutsumi's chest. She held me safe, wrapping both her arms around me to protect me from the sand blast.

I mumbled into her bosom, "I don't know why you haven't left me yet," and let out a slight chuckle.

As the dust cleared, we looked to see Naru storming up the beach. Kaolla was swaying behind her, following her nose to the chocolate. Mutsumi had her arms wrapped tight around me still, protecting me from the raging beast before us.

"Naru, what do you want? Can't you see we're in the middle of eating breakfast?"

For some strange reason, Naru was speechless. I thought, "I'm going to get her to tell me how she does that."

But I noticed that Naru wasn't her usual self. She looked rather pale, and I could see that her fists, although clenched, were shaking not through anger but rather sadness. Tears were welling up in her eyes, and I knew what she was going to do before she did it.

She fell to the ground and prostrated herself. "Keitaro… I'm so sorry… For everything." She lifted her head to look at me, and tears were streaming down her face. I couldn't just leave her on the ground like that. I walked over to her and helped her up. She feebly walked to the table and sat down, and Mutsumi offered her some food to eat, which she took gratefully.

She was nothing like the Naru I had known before. The girl sitting before me had Naru's hair, Naru's face, and her body, but it wasn't Naru. Her temper had completely dissipated, leaving a shaking shell. She looked at me again, and explained everything that had happened over the past few days, in her perspective.

She told me about everything she had felt since the beginning, and as she spoke of certain events I was sure I could see them floating over the horizon, blending into the cloud cover. (I couldn't look her in the face, not after all of that.)

When she finished, we were all silent for a very long time. I think even Mutsumi had a tear in her eye. The only sound we could hear was Kaolla, wolfing down the seemingly bottomless pot of fondue.

Mutsumi looked at Keitaro and nodded. She let him go gently, and walked over to Naru, sitting down beside her. Mutsumi pulled Naru's head to look towards her, and said her name, very solemly I might add.  
Naru looked surprised that Mutsumi was being this kind to her. I suppose in retrospect she knew what was coming, because a few seconds later, there was a large red handprint across her face.

"How you could treat anyone like this is beyond me, let alone Keitaro. You know when I told you about that day in the park? That hurt me to no end, letting you have Keitaro. But I knew that he wanted to be with you more than he did with me. He told me everything, Naru. About your cruel stunt at the sandpit. About how you're always teasing him about things that aren't his fault. Naru, you're a horrible person."

Naru tried to interject. "B-but--"

"No buts. Keitaro has only ever been amazing to you, Naru. I can't believe you would throw all of this away on a whim. Of course, I'm not sorry that you fucked up. Not at all, believe me. Keitaro's a great kisser, by the way, but you'll never need to know that."

It was at this moment that I rose from my seat. Mutsumi and Naru both looked at me, the former having gone silent.

"Mutsumi, thanks for defending me. But I think that Naru and I need to talk this out."

I turned to face the younger girl. "If you'll accompany me to the waterside, I'd like to have a private talk."

"O…okay." Naru rose and I walked with her, silently, until the tide slapped gently at my toes.

She was speechless. I didn't expect this to happen, but I guess the past few days had been much unexpected. So I decided to talk.

"Naru, why did you do what you did?"

After a moment, she replied, "It… it was just a joke. I know you were probably heartbroken, but… I've never really gotten close to a guy. I suppose I was scared, you know? I… I love you, Kei."

I felt my fists clench at my side. I was confused and disoriented, to say the least. My face flustered, I turned to her.

"Naru, what gives you the right to say that?"

I think I was possibly more surprised that I could actually say that than she was, but I guess it was Mutsumi's companionship that gave me that extra strength.

So, she explained herself. She told me everything that went through her head, from that day until now. Funnily enough, I understood. I heard Kaolla start helping Mutsumi with the dishes, and seagulls cawed overhead.

And once again, I was faced with a decision.

Mutsumi… or Naru?

* * *

(Sakako's note: Again, I'm so sorry… I think I'm going to be posting a lot less these days. But don't fret. I /will/ finish what I started. Don't forget to review, and thanks for being so patient.)


	5. Ante Climax

Chapter V (Ante Climax)

**I've told you already. I don't own Love Hina, okay!?**

_So, who's it going to be, Keitaro?_

The answer was clear, already. It was a simple matter. I only needed to weigh up the information that was provided to me by the girls.

On the one hand, there was Mutsumi Otohime, the beautiful (and voluptuous) older-sister type; and...

_You're such an idiot, Keitaro. You're actually considering this bitch sitting next to you?_

It was hard to ignore my inner feelings. Never before in my life had I been happier than when I was with Mutsumi; but something told me that there was something I was missing.

I rose, and Naru looked up at me, almost whimpering.

"Are you going back to her...?"

I had to hold myself back, to refrain from diving upon her and beating her half to death.

"No, Naru. I'm going to go think for a while."

I walked down the beach, where the tide was just coming in, found a nice clear patch of sand far away from the house, and sat down, thinking to myself. I closed my eyes, and tried to meditate; but before I knew it, I was asleep.

*

I came to a while later, Kaolla busy covering my body with sand, and humming an obnoxiously happy tune. I groaned, and the tan girl looked straight at me as if she hadn't been doing anything suspect.

"Hey, Kaolla-chan. How'd you find me?"

She beamed, and held up her portable GPS.

"Ah, I see."

I thought that I should check on the two girls I had left back at the mansion, and so I got Kaolla to dust me off, and I walked back. I still didn't have an answer to the questions that were filling my head, but I thought that I should probably at least try to figure something out.

When I returned to the house, the two girls were sitting at the table, concentrating on a deck of cards.

"Uh... hey, what are you two doing?"

They weren't fighting, at any rate. They were just sitting there, looking at the deck. It was blue, with a kind of criss-crossy pattern on it. Not that that mattered, but it was the only thing I could think of to divert my attention from the steely gazes that were being shared between them.

Naru was the one who answered. "We're playing a card game."

"Which game would that be?"

"It's called Five Lives."

I had never heard of that game before. When I got Mutsumi to explain the rules, she was rather vague. The game seemed to revolve around timing; one person would dart their hand out to pick a card, and then, toss it to the other side of the table. I noticed that the cards being thrown were of fairly low value, and sometimes one person would pick a card up that was thrown at them, and place it in a pile at the side.

Needless to say, fairly soon, the deck was finished, and the two piles of collected cards were shuffled into each other; the ones before the girls were formed into their hand.

That was only the first stage of the game, however.

The next stage consisted of them saying random capital cities, every time they played a card - and it didn't seem as if there was any order to the play. It certainly wasn't any sort of "Eights" or anything like that.

After their hands were exhausted, I piped in.

"Uh... Why are you playing this game?"

I was half-scared of the answer I was about to receive. I didn't really think it was going to happen that way, but there it was. Mutsumi grinned.

"We're gambling."

"But I thought gambling required an ante."

"Oh, we've got one."

That was Naru, of course. I already knew what the wager was.

"You're betting my heart... on a_ card game_?"

My fists clenched again. The situation before me was rather ridiculous.

"Don't worry, it's a game of great skill, but it's also a game which involves you. We just haven't got up to that part yet."

Relaxing, I took a seat and watched the next stage of the game. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw a pad of paper being placed to the side, and the typical bridge scoring system of US versus THEM was played out. Finally, something tangible that I could understand.

But I was still wrong. This game was a complete farce.

Mutsumi dealt five cards to Naru, and one to herself. Naru uttered some sort of expletive, and pulled one of the end cards out, and placed it face-down on the table. This earned Mutsumi 100 points, apparently. She placed her card face-down on top of it, and dealt herself another card. Naru repeated this action, and Mutsumi was 200 points ahead.

But on the next card, Mutsumi bit her bottom lip. Placing her card face-down under the growing pile, she flipped the three of clubs from the top of the pile.

Naru grinned, and placed the three of spades on top of it. Mutsumi gave a sigh, and wrote "1000" under the THEM column.

_One thousand points? This game really is ridiculous._

Naru showed Mutsumi her hand. Two fives. Another three hundred points, and it was time to add up. However, from out of nowhere, they each gained an inexplicable 50,000 points, and whatever they had gained from this game was forgotten, the pad tossed to the side.

Stage four was a quiz, however. I even got to ask the questions - and apparently, the more personal about me, the better. I started with this one:

"Where do I keep my sketchpad?"

It was a pretty easy question, and they both scribbled furiously, on new sheets of paper. They chanted, "One, two, three, flip!" and both of them had the correct answer.

I couldn't think of any more questions, though, so, I just asked,

"How much do you love me?"

They both gasped, and Naru bit her pencil. Mutsumi, however, was busy writing what looked like an essay, which she handed to me before Naru was even started.

Reading it over, I actually found tears welling up. It was so heartfelt, and I clenched the paper so hard, with my trembling hands.

I could only mumble, "M-Mutsumi..." and I collapsed off the edge of my seat. Mutsumi rushed over to me, and clasped me tight.

"Keitaro!"

I was fine, and I said as much, but she helped me back up, and onto my seat. Naru had only touched pencil to paper once, and wrote one word. It was my name.

I didn't really understand.

I stood, and picked the cards up off the table.

"This is ridiculous."

Both of the girls looked at me, unsure of what I was saying.

"Love isn't a game. It's a real thing." I waved Mutsumi's piece of paper around in the air. "See this? This is an approximation of love. It doesn't mean anything to anyone but her," and I indicated the older girl, "and me."

Naru interjected. "But-"

"No buts. You had your chance, Naru. In fact, I'd almost go so far as to say you had plenty of chances. I thought I loved you, Naru, but apparently you never loved me. So I gave up. I couldn't count on you to be the one I'd been thinking of for nearly twenty years."

"Kei..."

"Don't call me that, either. You missed out, Naru."

I took Mutsumi's hand, and helped her up. After a moment's silence, it was her who spoke.

"Go home, Naru. We don't need you here anymore."

Naru was once again speechless, tears and sobs the only form of communication that she was capable of. She rose, and staggered off down the beach, tripping over on the sand. I urged Kaolla on, to keep her safe, and as Naru got up, she looked back to the island off Okinawa one last time.

*

It was some months before I returned to the Hinata Inn. I had forgone my post as manager, and it was Motoko who assumed that mantle. I was rather glad that she had not let everything get more out of hand than it usually was.

"Keitaro, you've come back!"

"I'm just visiting, Motoko. Thought you guys would miss me."

"Well," she blushed, "I certainly didn't." She huffed, and let me inside the building. I looked around for a while, but I didn't notice Naru around anywhere. I asked Kitsune where she was.

"She hasn't been here for months, Keitaro. She left looking for you, and hasn't come back."

_There's nothing I can do about that, _I thought.

"She... didn't come back?"

"Nope. Haven't heard from her."

My heart skipped a beat. I didn't really know what was going on, but I didn't like it. But there really was nothing I could do. I sat down, and the fox-eyed girl consoled me.

"It's okay, really. I'm sure she's off having fun somewhere."

"Thanks, Kitsune, but I think I should go now. It was nice seeing you again."

"Take care, Keitaro."

And, of myself, and Mutsumi Otohime, I did.

The end.

(Sakako's note: It certainly has been a while since I wrote anything. I know this last chapter doesn't really make up for that, but hey, at least I tried. It's not like it was my best work, but that's still in the works. I'll see you guys soon.)


	6. Aftermath of Everything

I suddenly awoke from my stupor. It could have worked like that. But somehow I knew that wasn't going to happen.

_So, who's it going to be, Keitaro?_

The answer was clear, already. It was a simple matter. I only needed to weigh up the information that was provided to me by the girls.

On the one hand, there was Mutsumi Otohime, the beautiful (and voluptuous) older-sister type; and...

_You're such an idiot, Keitaro. You're actually considering this bitch sitting next to you?_

It was hard to ignore my inner feelings. Never before in my life had I been happier than when I was with Mutsumi; but something told me that there was something I was missing.

I rose, and Naru looked up at me, almost whimpering.

"Are you going back to her...?"

I had to hold myself back, to refrain from diving upon her and beating her half to death.

"No, Naru. I'm going to go think for a while."

I walked down the beach, where the tide was just coming in, found a nice clear patch of sand far away from the house, and sat down, thinking to myself. I closed my eyes, and tried to meditate; but before I knew it, I was asleep.

I came to a while later, Kaolla busy covering my body with sand, and humming an obnoxiously happy tune. I groaned, and the tan girl looked straight at me as if she hadn't been doing anything suspect.

"Hey, Kaolla-chan. How'd you find me?"

She beamed, and held up her portable GPS.

"Ah, I see."

I thought that I should check on the two girls I had left back at the mansion, and so I got Kaolla to dust me off, and I walked back. I still didn't have an answer to the questions that were filling my head, but I thought that I should probably at least try to figure something out.

When I returned to the house, the two girls were sitting at the table, concentrating on a deck of cards.

"Uh... hey, what are you two doing?"

They weren't fighting, at any rate. They were just sitting there, looking at the deck. It was blue, with a kind of criss-crossy pattern on it. Not that that mattered, but it was the only thing I could think of to divert my attention from the steely gazes that were being shared between them.

Naru was the one who answered. "We're playing a card game."

"Which game would that be?"

"It's called Five Lives."

I had never heard of that game before. When I got Mutsumi to explain the rules, she was rather vague. The game seemed to revolve around timing; one person would dart their hand out to pick a card, and then, toss it to the other side of the table. I noticed that the cards being thrown were of fairly low value, and sometimes one person would pick a card up that was thrown at them, and place it in a pile at the side.

Needless to say, fairly soon, the deck was finished, and the two piles of collected cards were shuffled into each other; the ones before the girls were formed into their hand.

That was only the first stage of the game, however.

The next stage consisted of them saying random capital cities, every time they played a card - and it didn't seem as if there was any order to the play. It certainly wasn't any sort of "Eights" or anything like that.

After their hands were exhausted, I piped in.

"Uh... Why are you playing this game?"

I was half-scared of the answer I was about to receive. I didn't really think it was going to happen that way, but there it was. Mutsumi grinned.

"We're gambling."

"But I thought gambling required an ante."

"Oh, we've got one."

That was Naru, of course. I already knew what the wager was.

"You're betting my heart... on a _card game_?"

My fists clenched again. The situation before me was rather ridiculous.

"Don't worry, it's a game of great skill, but it's also a game which involves you. We just haven't got up to that part yet."

Relaxing, I took a seat and watched the next stage of the game. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw a pad of paper being placed to the side, and the typical bridge scoring system of US versus THEM was played out. Finally, something tangible that I could understand.

But I was still wrong. This game was a complete farce.

Mutsumi dealt five cards to Naru, and one to herself. Naru uttered some sort of expletive, and pulled one of the end cards out, and placed it face-down on the table. This earned Mutsumi 100 points, apparently. She placed her card face-down on top of it, and dealt herself another card. Naru repeated this action, and Mutsumi was 200 points ahead.

But on the next card, Mutsumi bit her bottom lip. Placing her card face-down under the growing pile, she flipped the three of clubs from the top of the pile.

Naru grinned, and placed the three of spades on top of it. Mutsumi gave a sigh, and wrote "1000" under the THEM column.

_One thousand points? This game really is ridiculous._

Naru showed Mutsumi her hand. Two fives. Another three hundred points, and it was time to add up. However, from out of nowhere, they each gained an inexplicable 50,000 points, and whatever they had gained from this game was forgotten, the pad tossed to the side.

Stage four was a quiz, however. I even got to ask the questions - and apparently, the more personal about me, the better. I started with this one:

"Where do I keep my sketchpad?"

It was a pretty easy question, and they both scribbled furiously, on new sheets of paper. They chanted, "One, two, three, flip!" and both of them had the correct answer.

I couldn't think of any more questions, though, so, I just asked,

"How much do you love me?"

They both gasped, and Naru bit her pencil. Mutsumi, however, was busy writing what looked like an essay, which she handed to me before Naru was even started.

Reading it over, I actually found tears welling up. It was so heartfelt, and I clenched the paper so hard, with my trembling hands.

I could only mumble, "M-Mutsumi..." and I collapsed off the edge of my seat. Mutsumi rushed over to me, and clasped me tight.

"Keitaro!"

I was fine, and I said as much, but she helped me back up, and onto my seat. Naru had only touched pencil to paper once, and wrote one word. It was my name.

I understood completely.

I stood, and picked the cards up off the table.

"This is ridiculous."

Both of the girls looked at me, unsure of what I was saying.

"Love isn't a game. It's a real thing." I waved Mutsumi's piece of paper around in the air. "See this? This is an approximation of love. It doesn't mean anything to anyone but her," and I indicated the older girl.

I scrunched up the piece of paper. "I'm sorry, Mutsumi. You can write all you like... you have the determination. But at the end of the day, it's being able to make someone speechless that means you truly love them. I had so much trouble talking to Naru here, for so long..."

I trailed off, and caught the younger girl's eye. Tears were welling up, but I could tell that she wasn't sad. I didn't even want to look at Mutsumi at that moment; but I could hear her pain like the throbbing of her heart.

"Naru, I know what it feels like to be in love. So in love... that you can't think of anything else but that person."

Naru interjected. "But-"

"No buts, Naru." I placed my finger to her lips, shushing her. "It's all over."

Trailing my finger down her side, I stood, and linked my hand with hers, helping her up.

"Goodbye, Mutsumi-chan. I hope... I really hope you can forgive me."

Naru and I walked into the sunset, and the waiting submarine.

Days went past in the blinks of eyes, and I resumed my post as manager of the Hinata Apartments, my lover by my side. It was all a blur, until that one day, as we were sitting down to dinner.

"Hello, Keitaro."

I knew that voice. We all did. I didn't even have to see Mutsumi Otohime standing before me to know that it was her.

"Uh, hi, Mutsumi."

"Can we talk?"

I looked around, as the girls all excused themselves. Offering her a seat, I began, "You're not here to forgive me, are you?"

"No, Keitaro. I'm here to apologise."

"It's me that should be saying that. You must be heartbroken."

"Actually, I thought that I would be too, but it turns out that I was being twice as manipulative as your girlfriend. She really is a good person."

"I know. I'm so very lucky."

"I just thought that I should apologise. After all, I'm going to be at Tokyo University next year, and I couldn't bear being on bad terms with my manager."

"Wait, what? You're moving to Tokyo?"

"It's official. I'll be hanging around." A smile cracked in her face, and she threw herself around me. Blushing as she looked into my eyes, she giggled and licked my nose. "Naru's a lucky girl. You'd better take care of yourself."

She got up, and tripped over herself walking out of the front door.

Naru returned to my side. "What was that all about?"

"I think we're going to be okay."

Mutsumi had asked me to take care of myself, and so, of Naru Narusegawa, and of myself, I did.

THE REAL END –

(Sakako's final: Sorry, sorry, sorry, this took so long, and was so similar to the other chapter. I wanted to give everyone a chance to read and believe that the previous final chapter was it. I have no other explanation. Hopefully I should be able to write a lot more. I know I say this all the time, and it never happens, but I do mean it. I love you guys. :3)


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